DETAILED ACTION
The present application, filed on or after March 16, 2013, is being examined under the first inventor to file provisions of the AIA . In virtue of the response filed on 02/04/2026, in which claims 1-20 are presented for examination, claims 1-5, 8-9, 12, 14-19 are amended, wherein claims 1, 8, 14 are recited in independent form. The present Application is a Continuation of PCT/CN2022/089948 with a filing date of 04/28/2022 and claims Foreign Priority to CN-202110476814.2 with a filing date of 04/29/2023 (certified copy received 12/30/2023).
Claim Interpretation
The claims in this application are given their broadest reasonable interpretation using the plain meaning of the claim language in light of the specification as it would be understood by one of ordinary skill in the art, without importing limitations from the specification. The broadest reasonable interpretation of “at least one of following” would incorporate only a single option from the list of options which follow. At least one of following under the broadest reasonable interpretation would include only one of the plurality of options and any dependent claims which further modify an option not part of a broadest reasonable interpretation would also not be part of a broadest reasonable interpretation which incorporates a different option.
Response to Arguments
Applicant's arguments filed 02/04/2026 have been fully considered but they are not persuasive. Applicant contends d1 in view of d2 fails to disclose the limitation “wherein the first broadcast message comprises indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” added by amendment. The Examiner respectfully disagrees. Applicant admits in the response of 02/04/2026 that d1 in view of d2 discloses reception of an indication that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is not supported (i.e. cell barred). The Examiner maintains that disclosure of the an indication in a SSB message that a signal amplifier is supported is also disclosed. Wherein d1 in view of d2 discloses:
[0400] According to another aspect, the repeater device may configure itself (i.e., may configure the repeater device) to convey radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in accordance with a control signal (I.e. message) of the cell-specific information. The control signal may be broadcast from the network access node and exclusively directed to a plurality of repeater devices, including the repeater device, within a broadcast reception range of the network access node. The control signal may configure the plurality of repeater devices to not convey the radio frequency traffic associated with a cell (i.e. not supported). In one aspect, the control signal may provide a synchronization signal block (SSB)-specific (SSB-specific) indication, wherein the repeater device may determine to convey (i.e. supported) or to not convey (i.e. not supported) based on a detected SSB (i.e. indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported) from the network access node and the provided SSB-specific indication. In one aspect, the control signal may indicate that a network access node, transmitting the cell-specific information, bars one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., one or more UEs) from camping on a cell associated with the cell-specific information. In such an example the repeater device (e.g., one or more circuits of the repeater device) may configure itself (i.e., the repeater device) to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device from the one or more wireless communication devices in an uplink resource associated with the cell. In such an example, the repeater device may determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal and configure an output power of a transmitter of the repeater device according to the SSB index value. According to some aspects, the repeater device may configure the output power of the repeater device by at least one of: configuring a maximum output power of the transmitter, configuring a maximum amplification gain of the transmitter, or configuring a first power assigned to first traffic transmitted in an uplink and a second power assigned to second traffic transmitted in a downlink, wherein the first power is different from the second power. In some examples, the repeater device may configure itself to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device that is associated with the SSB index value in the uplink resource associated with the cell. In this example, the repeater device may additionally determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal, map the SSB index value to one of a plurality of beams of the network access node according to a predetermined mapping relationship, and configure the repeater device to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in a resource associated with the one of the plurality of beams. Therefore, d1 in view of d2 disclose added limitations “indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 112
Claims 3, 9, 16 are amended such that the previously held rejection with respect to 35 U.S.C. 112(b) or 35 U.S.C. 112 (pre-AIA ), second paragraph, as have been overcome. Therefore, the rejections are withdrawn.
Claim Rejections - 35 USC § 103
The following is a quotation of 35 U.S.C. 103 which forms the basis for all obviousness rejections set forth in this Office action:
A patent for a claimed invention may not be obtained, notwithstanding that the claimed invention is not identically disclosed as set forth in section 102 of this title, if the differences between the claimed invention and the prior art are such that the claimed invention as a whole would have been obvious before the effective filing date of the claimed invention to a person having ordinary skill in the art to which the claimed invention pertains. Patentability shall not be negated by the manner in which the invention was made.
The factual inquiries set forth in Graham v. John Deere Co., 383 U.S. 1, 148 USPQ 459 (1966), that are applied for establishing a background for determining obviousness under 35 U.S.C. 103 are summarized as follows:
1. Determining the scope and contents of the prior art.
2. Ascertaining the differences between the prior art and the claims at issue.
3. Resolving the level of ordinary skill in the pertinent art.
4. Considering objective evidence present in the application indicating obviousness or nonobviousness.
In the event the determination of the status of the application as subject to AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103 (or as subject to pre-AIA 35 U.S.C. 102 and 103) is incorrect, any correction of the statutory basis (i.e., changing from AIA to pre-AIA ) for the rejection will not be considered a new ground of rejection if the prior art relied upon, and the rationale supporting the rejection, would be the same under either status.
Claims 1-2, 4-15, 17-20 are rejected under 35 U.S.C. 103 as being unpatentable over United States Patent Application Publication US-20220053433 to Abedini et al (hereinafter d1) in view of United States Patent Application Publication US-20220053486 to Abedini et al (hereinafter d2).
Regarding claim 1, as to the limitations “An operating parameter configuration method, wherein the method comprises:” d1 discloses techniques in the field of endeavor of wireless communication, in connection with a smart repeater implemented in system (see d1 Fig. 29) comprising at least a smart repeater (see d1 Figs. 21 and 32), network access nodes (see d1 Fig. 25) wherein each device contains well known and established elements including: a processor, a memory, (see d1 Figs. 21, 25, 32) and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, (see d1 para. 0244-0246) wherein the devices perform a method by which communication and interaction occur between the devices (see d1 Fig. 31), wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform actions fairly characterized as methods (see d1 Fig. 31);
as to the limitation “receiving, by an intelligent signal amplifier, a first broadcast message from a network side device, wherein the first broadcast message is configured to indicate that the intelligent signal amplifier is supported to access the network side device; initiating, by the intelligent signal amplifier, target random access based on the first broadcast message; and receiving, by the intelligent signal amplifier, an operating parameter from the network side device after the target random access is successful, wherein the target random access comprises 2-step random access or 4-step random access” d1 discloses broadcast information (see para. 0368) transmitted by a network access device and received by a repeater device which is a smart repeater (see d1 para. 0072-0073, 0190, 0229, 0346-0350, 0429-0430) (i.e. intelligent signal amplifier) which represents an indication of support for the repeater device (see d1 Fig. 31 para. 368); RA based on received information (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374) including successful RA comprising known 2-step or 4-step RA (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374); and communication regarding parameters reflective of operation (i.e. operating parameters) (see d1 Figs. 31, 33 para. 385-387);
D1 may not explicitly disclose every limitation above (although, given a broadest reasonable interpretation the limitations may be met), in the event that it is determined that d1 does not explicitly disclose any limitation or is in some way disqualified as prior art, attention is directed to d2 which with respect to the limitations above discloses techniques related to a smart repeater including communication between a repeater device (see d2 Figs. 18, 20) and a network access device (see d2 Fig. 21) wherein the repeater device contains amplification capability in and intelligent manner (see d2 para. 0120-0122) including communication of broadcast messaging (see d2 para. 0073) which is fairly characterized as support to access the network access device (see d2 Figs. 20, 22), RA (see d2 para. 0095, 00125), and communication of parameters fairly characterized as operating parameters (see d2 para. 0124, Figs. 20, 22).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
As to the limitation “wherein the first broadcast message comprises indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” d1 in view of d2 discloses that a repeater device may configure itself (i.e., may configure the repeater device) to convey radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in accordance with a control signal (I.e. message) of the cell-specific information. The control signal may be broadcast from the network access node and exclusively directed to a plurality of repeater devices, including the repeater device, within a broadcast reception range of the network access node. The control signal may configure the plurality of repeater devices to not convey the radio frequency traffic associated with a cell (i.e. not supported). In one aspect, the control signal may provide a synchronization signal block (SSB)-specific (SSB-specific) indication, wherein the repeater device may determine to convey (i.e. supported) or to not convey (i.e. not supported) based on a detected SSB (i.e. indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported) from the network access node and the provided SSB-specific indication. In one aspect, the control signal may indicate that a network access node, transmitting the cell-specific information, bars one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., one or more UEs) from camping on a cell associated with the cell-specific information. In such an example the repeater device (e.g., one or more circuits of the repeater device) may configure itself (i.e., the repeater device) to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device from the one or more wireless communication devices in an uplink resource associated with the cell. In such an example, the repeater device may determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal and configure an output power of a transmitter of the repeater device according to the SSB index value. According to some aspects, the repeater device may configure the output power of the repeater device by at least one of: configuring a maximum output power of the transmitter, configuring a maximum amplification gain of the transmitter, or configuring a first power assigned to first traffic transmitted in an uplink and a second power assigned to second traffic transmitted in a downlink, wherein the first power is different from the second power. In some examples, the repeater device may configure itself to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device that is associated with the SSB index value in the uplink resource associated with the cell. In this example, the repeater device may additionally determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal, map the SSB index value to one of a plurality of beams of the network access node according to a predetermined mapping relationship, and configure the repeater device to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in a resource associated with the one of the plurality of beams (see d1 para. 0400). Therefore, d1 in view of d2 disclose added limitations “indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding claim 2, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the first broadcast message comprises at least one of: cell information of a cell that supports access of the intelligent signal amplifier; a random access configuration applied to the intelligent signal amplifier; or wireless backhaul message indication, wherein the wireless backhaul message indication is configured to indicate that the network side device supports the access of the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 in view of d2 discloses at cell information of a cell that supports access of the intelligent signal amplifier (see d1 para. 0400, d2 para. 0073) which is fairly characterized as support to access the network access device (see d2 Figs. 20, 22) and broadcast information (see para. 0368) transmitted by a network access device and received by a repeater device which is a smart repeater (see d1 para. 0072-0073, 0190, 0229, 0346-0350, 0429-0430) (i.e. intelligent signal amplifier) which represents an indication of support for the repeater device (see d1 Fig. 31 para. 368).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 4, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the initiating, by the intelligent signal amplifier, target random access based on the first broadcast message comprises: sending, by the intelligent signal amplifier, device type information in MsgA-PUSCH or RRCSetupComplete in a procedure of initiating the 2-step random access; and sending, by the intelligent signal amplifier, the device type information in Msg3 or RRCSetupComplete in a procedure of initiating the 4-step random access, wherein the device type information is configured to identify a device type of an access device that initiates the target random access” d1 in view of d2 discloses device type information associated with messages known to be parts of 2-step or 4-step RA (see d1 para. 0436) including information reflective of device type (see d2 para. 0038, 0160, 0184, 0239, 0272).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 5, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein after the initiating, by the intelligent signal amplifier, target random access based on the first broadcast message, the method further comprises: reporting, by the intelligent signal amplifier after the target random access is successful, device type information to the network side device through user equipment (UE) assistance information or another RRC message, wherein the device type information is configured to identify a device type of an access device that initiates the target random access” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication of information reflective of device type (see d2 para. 0038, 0160, 0184, 0239, 0272) via RRC messages (see d1 para. 0229).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 6, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: receiving, by the intelligent signal amplifier, a reporting request from the network side device, wherein the reporting request is configured to request the intelligent signal amplifier to report capability parameter information; wherein the capability parameter information comprises a parameter related to at least one of: a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication regarding capability information related to at least one of a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration (see d1 paras. 0216-0217, 0269-0270, 0308, 0310, 0337-0339, 0342, 0434).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 7, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 1, wherein after the target random access is successful, the method further comprises: sending, by the intelligent signal amplifier, request information to the network side device, wherein the request information is configured to request the network side device to configure an operating parameter for the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication of configuration with respect to the repeater (see d1 Fig. 39; para. 0435-0441).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 8, as to the limitations “An operating parameter configuration method, wherein the method comprises:” d1 discloses techniques in the field of endeavor of wireless communication, in connection with a smart repeater implemented in system (see d1 Fig. 29) comprising at least a smart repeater (see d1 Figs. 21 and 32), network access nodes (see d1 Fig. 25) wherein each device contains well known and established elements including: a processor, a memory, (see d1 Figs. 21, 25, 32) and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, (see d1 para. 0244-0246) wherein the devices perform a method by which communication and interaction occur between the devices (see d1 Fig. 31), wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform actions fairly characterized as methods (see d1 Fig. 31);
as to the limitation “sending, by a network side device, a first broadcast message, wherein the first broadcast message is configured to indicate that an intelligent signal amplifier is supported to access the network side device; and sending, by the network side device, an operating parameter to the intelligent signal amplifier after successfully accessing the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 discloses broadcast information (see para. 0368) transmitted by a network access device and received by a repeater device which is a smart repeater (see d1 para. 0072-0073, 0190, 0229, 0346-0350, 0429-0430) (i.e. intelligent signal amplifier) which represents an indication of support for the repeater device (see d1 Fig. 31 para. 368); RA based on received information (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374) including successful RA comprising known 2-step or 4-step RA (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374); and communication regarding parameters reflective of operation (i.e. operating parameters) (see d1 Figs. 31, 33 para. 385-387);
D1 may not explicitly disclose every limitation above (although, given a broadest reasonable interpretation the limitations may be met), in the event that it is determined that d1 does not explicitly disclose any limitation or is in some way disqualified as prior art, attention is directed to d2 which with respect to the limitations above discloses techniques related to a smart repeater including communication between a repeater device (see d2 Figs. 18, 20) and a network access device (see d2 Fig. 21) wherein the repeater device contains amplification capability in and intelligent manner (see d2 para. 0120-0122) including communication of broadcast messaging (see d2 para. 0073) which is fairly characterized as support to access the network access device (see d2 Figs. 20, 22), RA (see d2 para. 0095, 00125), and communication of parameters fairly characterized as operating parameters (see d2 para. 0124, Figs. 20, 22).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
As to the limitation “wherein the first broadcast message comprises indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” d1 in view of d2 discloses that a repeater device may configure itself (i.e., may configure the repeater device) to convey radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in accordance with a control signal (I.e. message) of the cell-specific information. The control signal may be broadcast from the network access node and exclusively directed to a plurality of repeater devices, including the repeater device, within a broadcast reception range of the network access node. The control signal may configure the plurality of repeater devices to not convey the radio frequency traffic associated with a cell (i.e. not supported). In one aspect, the control signal may provide a synchronization signal block (SSB)-specific (SSB-specific) indication, wherein the repeater device may determine to convey (i.e. supported) or to not convey (i.e. not supported) based on a detected SSB (i.e. indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported) from the network access node and the provided SSB-specific indication. In one aspect, the control signal may indicate that a network access node, transmitting the cell-specific information, bars one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., one or more UEs) from camping on a cell associated with the cell-specific information. In such an example the repeater device (e.g., one or more circuits of the repeater device) may configure itself (i.e., the repeater device) to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device from the one or more wireless communication devices in an uplink resource associated with the cell. In such an example, the repeater device may determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal and configure an output power of a transmitter of the repeater device according to the SSB index value. According to some aspects, the repeater device may configure the output power of the repeater device by at least one of: configuring a maximum output power of the transmitter, configuring a maximum amplification gain of the transmitter, or configuring a first power assigned to first traffic transmitted in an uplink and a second power assigned to second traffic transmitted in a downlink, wherein the first power is different from the second power. In some examples, the repeater device may configure itself to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device that is associated with the SSB index value in the uplink resource associated with the cell. In this example, the repeater device may additionally determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal, map the SSB index value to one of a plurality of beams of the network access node according to a predetermined mapping relationship, and configure the repeater device to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in a resource associated with the one of the plurality of beams (see d1 para. 0400). Therefore, d1 in view of d2 disclose added limitations “indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding claim 9, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 8, wherein the sending, by a network side device, a first broadcast message comprises: broadcasting, by the network side device in a case of sending Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or broadcast information through beam scanning, the first broadcast message only in a beam direction in which the intelligent signal amplifier is required” d1 in view of d2 discloses directional beamforming (see d1 para. 0351-0363, 0151, 0163, 0347).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 10, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 8, wherein after the network side device successfully access the intelligent signal amplifier, the method further comprises: sending, by the network side device, a reporting request to the intelligent signal amplifier, wherein the reporting request is configured to request the intelligent signal amplifier to report capability parameter information; wherein the capability parameter information comprises a parameter related to at least one of: a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication regarding capability information related to at least one of a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration (see d1 paras. 0216-0217, 0269-0270, 0308, 0310, 0337-0339, 0342, 0434).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 11, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 8, wherein before the sending, by the network side device, the operating parameter to the intelligent signal amplifier, the method further comprises: receiving, by the network side device, request information from the intelligent signal amplifier, wherein the request information is configured to request the network side device to configure an operating parameter for the intelligent signal amplifier.” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication of configuration with respect to the repeater (see d1 Fig. 39; para. 0435-0441).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 12, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 11, wherein before the sending, by the network side device, the operating parameter to the intelligent signal amplifier, the method further comprises: determining, by the network side device based on a received capability parameter information, a device for which the request information is configured to request configuration of the operating parameter as the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication regarding capability information related to a device for which the request information is configured to request configuration of the operating parameter as the intelligent signal amplifier (see d1 paras. 0216-0217, 0269-0270, 0308, 0310, 0337-0339, 0342, 0434).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 13, as to the limitation “The method according to claim 8, wherein before the sending, by the network side device, the operating parameter to the intelligent signal amplifier, the method further comprises: receiving, by the network side device, device type information from the intelligent signal amplifier, wherein the device type information is configured to identify a device type of an access device that initiates the target random access; and determining, by the network side device, an access device corresponding to the device type information as the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication including information reflective of device type (see d2 para. 0038, 0160, 0184, 0239, 0272).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 14, as to the limitations “An intelligent signal amplifier, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform:” d1 discloses techniques in the field of endeavor of wireless communication, in connection with a smart repeater implemented in system (see d1 Fig. 29) comprising at least a smart repeater (see d1 Figs. 21 and 32), network access nodes (see d1 Fig. 25) wherein each device contains well known and established elements including: a processor, a memory, (see d1 Figs. 21, 25, 32) and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, (see d1 para. 0244-0246) wherein the devices perform a method by which communication and interaction occur between the devices (see d1 Fig. 31), wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform actions fairly characterized as methods (see d1 Fig. 31);
as to the limitation “receiving, by an intelligent signal amplifier, a first broadcast message from a network side device, wherein the first broadcast message is configured to indicate that the intelligent signal amplifier is supported to access the network side device; initiating, by the intelligent signal amplifier, target random access based on the first broadcast message; and receiving, by the intelligent signal amplifier, an operating parameter from the network side device after the target random access is successful, wherein the target random access comprises 2-step random access or 4-step random access” d1 discloses broadcast information (see para. 0368) transmitted by a network access device and received by a repeater device which is a smart repeater (see d1 para. 0072-0073, 0190, 0229, 0346-0350, 0429-0430) (i.e. intelligent signal amplifier) which represents an indication of support for the repeater device (see d1 Fig. 31 para. 368); RA based on received information (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374) including successful RA comprising known 2-step or 4-step RA (see d1 Fig. 31, para. 0370-0374); and communication regarding parameters reflective of operation (i.e. operating parameters) (see d1 Figs. 31, 33 para. 385-387);
D1 may not explicitly disclose every limitation above (although, given a broadest reasonable interpretation the limitations may be met), in the event that it is determined that d1 does not explicitly disclose any limitation or is in some way disqualified as prior art, attention is directed to d2 which with respect to the limitations above discloses techniques related to a smart repeater including communication between a repeater device (see d2 Figs. 18, 20) and a network access device (see d2 Fig. 21) wherein the repeater device contains amplification capability in and intelligent manner (see d2 para. 0120-0122) including communication of broadcast messaging (see d2 para. 0073) which is fairly characterized as support to access the network access device (see d2 Figs. 20, 22), RA (see d2 para. 0095, 00125), and communication of parameters fairly characterized as operating parameters (see d2 para. 0124, Figs. 20, 22).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
As to the limitation “wherein the first broadcast message comprises indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” d1 in view of d2 discloses that a repeater device may configure itself (i.e., may configure the repeater device) to convey radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in accordance with a control signal (I.e. message) of the cell-specific information. The control signal may be broadcast from the network access node and exclusively directed to a plurality of repeater devices, including the repeater device, within a broadcast reception range of the network access node. The control signal may configure the plurality of repeater devices to not convey the radio frequency traffic associated with a cell (i.e. not supported). In one aspect, the control signal may provide a synchronization signal block (SSB)-specific (SSB-specific) indication, wherein the repeater device may determine to convey (i.e. supported) or to not convey (i.e. not supported) based on a detected SSB (i.e. indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported) from the network access node and the provided SSB-specific indication. In one aspect, the control signal may indicate that a network access node, transmitting the cell-specific information, bars one or more wireless communication devices (e.g., one or more UEs) from camping on a cell associated with the cell-specific information. In such an example the repeater device (e.g., one or more circuits of the repeater device) may configure itself (i.e., the repeater device) to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device from the one or more wireless communication devices in an uplink resource associated with the cell. In such an example, the repeater device may determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal and configure an output power of a transmitter of the repeater device according to the SSB index value. According to some aspects, the repeater device may configure the output power of the repeater device by at least one of: configuring a maximum output power of the transmitter, configuring a maximum amplification gain of the transmitter, or configuring a first power assigned to first traffic transmitted in an uplink and a second power assigned to second traffic transmitted in a downlink, wherein the first power is different from the second power. In some examples, the repeater device may configure itself to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device that is associated with the SSB index value in the uplink resource associated with the cell. In this example, the repeater device may additionally determine a synchronization signal block (SSB) index value associated with the control signal, map the SSB index value to one of a plurality of beams of the network access node according to a predetermined mapping relationship, and configure the repeater device to not convey the radio frequency traffic received at the repeater device in a resource associated with the one of the plurality of beams (see d1 para. 0400). Therefore, d1 in view of d2 disclose added limitations “indication information indicating that access of the intelligent signal amplifier is supported” under a broadest reasonable interpretation.
Regarding claim 15, as to the limitation “The intelligent signal amplifier according to claim 14, wherein the first broadcast message comprises at least one of: cell information of a cell that supports access of the intelligent signal amplifier; a random access configuration applied to the intelligent signal amplifier; or wireless backhaul message indication, wherein the wireless backhaul message indication is configured to indicate that the network side device supports the access of the intelligent signal amplifier” d1 in view of d2 discloses at least cell information of a cell that supports access of the intelligent signal amplifier (see d1 para. 0400; d2 para. 0073) which is fairly characterized as support to access the network access device (see d2 Figs. 20, 22) and broadcast information (see para. 0368) transmitted by a network access device and received by a repeater device which is a smart repeater (see d1 para. 0072-0073, 0190, 0229, 0346-0350, 0429-0430) (i.e. intelligent signal amplifier) which represents an indication of support for the repeater device (see d1 Fig. 31 para. 368).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 17, as to the limitation “The intelligent signal amplifier according to claim 14, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform: sending, device type information in MsgA-PUSCH or RRCSetupComplete in a procedure of initiating the 2-step random access; and sending, the device type information in Msg3 or RRCSetupComplete in a procedure of initiating the 4-step random access, wherein the device type information is configured to identify a device type of an access device that initiates the target random access” d1 in view of d2 discloses device type information associated with messages known to be parts of 2-step or 4-step RA (see d1 para. 0436) including information reflective of device type (see d2 para. 0038, 0160, 0184, 0239, 0272).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 18, as to the limitation “The intelligent signal amplifier according to claim 14, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to further perform: reporting, after the target random access is successful, device type information to the network side device through user equipment (UE) assistance information or another RRC message, wherein the device type information is configured to identify a device type of an access device that initiates the target random access” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication of information reflective of device type (see d2 para. 0038, 0160, 0184, 0239, 0272) via RRC messages (see d1 para. 0229).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 19, as to the limitation “The intelligent signal amplifier according to claim 14, wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to further perform: receiving, a reporting request from the network side device, wherein the reporting request is configured to request the intelligent signal amplifier to report capability parameter information; wherein the capability parameter information comprises a parameter related to at least one of: a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration” d1 in view of d2 discloses communication regarding capability information related to at least one of a carrier, a bandwidth, transmit power, an uplink and downlink slot symbol configuration, or an antenna configuration (see d1 paras. 0216-0217, 0269-0270, 0308, 0310, 0337-0339, 0342, 0434).
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010) with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Regarding claim 20, as to the limitation “A network side device, comprising a processor, a memory, and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, wherein when the program or the instruction is executed by the processor, steps of the operating parameter configuration method according to claim 8 are implemented” d1 in view of d2 discloses d1 discloses techniques in the field of endeavor of wireless communication, in connection with a smart repeater implemented in system (see d1 Fig. 29) comprising at least a smart repeater (see d1 Figs. 21 and 32), network access nodes (see d1 Fig. 25) wherein each device contains well known and established elements including: a processor, a memory, (see d1 Figs. 21, 25, 32) and a program or an instruction stored in the memory and executable on the processor, (see d1 para. 0244-0246) wherein the devices perform a method by which communication and interaction occur between the devices (see d1 Fig. 31), wherein the program or the instruction, when executed by the processor, causes the intelligent signal amplifier to perform actions, wherein the method of claim 8 is disclosed as set forth above in the reasoning with respect to claim 8.
One of ordinary skill in the art as of the effective filing date would be motivated to combine the teaching of d1 and d2 to arrive at the Applicant’s invention, according to the ample teaching, suggestion, or motivation in the prior art, which would have led one of ordinary skill to modify the prior art reference or to combine prior art reference teachings to arrive at the claimed invention including at least to improve repeater device function and performance (see d2 paras. 0005-0010). The combination would also yield reasonable expectation of success as the techniques are applied in the same field of endeavor (wireless communication) and employ similar techniques. D2 is related to d1 in a similar field of endeavor (smart repeaters) and one of ordinary skill in the art before the effective filing date of the claimed invention would be motivated to apply the known techniques of d2 to the implementation of d1 to yield the predictable result of higher repeater functionality, and improved performance in the network (see d2 para. 0005-0010 with no undue experimentation and without altering the function thereof, wherein both techniques were known and used as of the effective filing date. It is also noted that many of the noted sections of d2 can equally be applied to the other limitations of the claims rejected under this section when d1 in view of d2 is considered as a whole and not individually.
Allowable Subject Matter
Claims 3, 9, 16 are objected to as being dependent upon a rejected base claim, but would be allowable if rewritten in independent form including all of the limitations of the base claim and any intervening claims.
Conclusion
Applicant's amendment necessitated the new ground(s) of rejection presented in this Office action. Accordingly, THIS ACTION IS MADE FINAL. See MPEP § 706.07(a). Applicant is reminded of the extension of time policy as set forth in 37 CFR 1.136(a).
A shortened statutory period for reply to this final action is set to expire THREE MONTHS from the mailing date of this action. In the event a first reply is filed within TWO MONTHS of the mailing date of this final action and the advisory action is not mailed until after the end of the THREE-MONTH shortened statutory period, then the shortened statutory period will expire on the date the advisory action is mailed, and any nonprovisional extension fee (37 CFR 1.17(a)) pursuant to 37 CFR 1.136(a) will be calculated from the mailing date of the advisory action. In no event, however, will the statutory period for reply expire later than SIX MONTHS from the mailing date of this final action.
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/NATHAN S TAYLOR/Primary Examiner, Art Unit 2643